WASHINGTON — Solid hiring nationwide led unemployment rates to touch record lows in three U.S. states last month.

The Labor Department says unemployment rates declined in 10 states in April, increased in one — Massachusetts — and held relatively stable in the other 39. A significant number of the job gains occurred in nine states, led by Texas, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Indiana was the only state to see a significant decrease in jobs last month.

Arkansas, Colorado and Oregon reported the lowest unemployment rates since 1976. Colorado's rate, at 2.3 percent, was the nation's lowest.

Those states' jobless rates fell because more residents found work. In some cases, the rate falls when those out of work stop looking and are no longer counted as unemployed.